Steve Francis has praised Eddie Howe for the way he deals with his Bournemouth players.

Mauricio Pellegrino - who was sacked by Southampton on Tuesday - and West Bromwich Albion boss Alan Pardew publicly criticised their players after heavy losses over the weekend.

Francis, who has been with the Cherries since 2011, insists it wouldn't have been the way Howe dealt with the situation.

"I think it shows signs of trouble in the camp if a manager is coming out and criticising his players.

"You don't want to hear that from a manager and you don't want players doing it either.

"If our gaffer thinks we are not doing the job correctly or if he feels we are not pulling our weight, he will let us know. But he will do it in the privacy of the changing room and that is the place he needs to let us know.

"Either the changing room after a game, during the week in training or in the presentation room ahead of a match.

"We have a lot of one-on-one meetings where we look at what we can improve on and what we have done well.

"It is not just the negatives and he highlights the positives as well.

"He is so meticulous. He will watch games over and over and look at where we went right and wrong and tell us."